The Lemon Jelly Cake

by Madeline Smith

A surefire cure for the headaches and stomach upsets of the twenty-first century, The Lemon Jelly Cake carries readers back to kinder, gentler times in a small town at the turn of the last century. Evoking a forgotten America of lush lawns, bountiful summer picnics, and shady front porches, the tale is set when the day's toughest decision might have been what to serve for dinner or which suit or dress to wear.
 
In this edition, an introduction by longtime Millikin University faculty member and Findlay resident Dan Guillory situates the book and its charming tale firmly in the Central Illinois of 1900.
 
 

A Prairie State Book
Supported by Nettie Lou Samuels

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, Book Club, Novels, Humor, Classics

256 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1997

Reviews

[ALLEN · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Never marry a tenor, honey." A charming little slice of Americana about life in a small Central Illinois town ca. 1900, as seen through the eyes of a girl who is undoubtedly stand-in for author Madeleine Smith. As the adults argue over Isolationist vs. Imperialist Republicanism, little Helene and her neighbor friend try to cope with grown-up ways and have a little fun themselves. Their awareness is often overlaid by an adult, tongue-in-cheek overview of village life, making THE LEMON JELLY CAKE much more than the juvenile novel it might have been.

Sadly, author Smith died shortly after the book's release in the early 1950s, which is what probably prevented THE LEMON JELLY CAKE from being better remembered. But here it is again, for all, to be enjoyed -- as it should be.

[Angi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was such a joy to read. Narrated by a young girl in Central Illinois, in the year 1900, it takes you back to a time a place I can hardly imagine or understand. A time when everything was so much simpler, not easier, but less distracting. I loved being transported to that time and place, just 1.5 hours from my hometown. While it is fiction, much of it was based on the life of the author. This village and upbringing was probably very similar to the life of my great grandparents. I feel lucky to have found this book and thankful to the author for sharing her story.

[Tina Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book feels like it landed in my lap from a forgotten time of simple charms and small delights. Oh how I adore books that make me want to lick my fingers with their frosting & sugar!

[Nancy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous story told by a little girl at the turn of the 20th century. The reader sees the people, especially her parents and neighbors, and the events of her small town through her eyes, and that is quite an interesting view. I actually read this book in one sitting, because it was such an absorbing read, and I was hooked by what was happening in the town. The story recalls an earlier era, when life was simpler in some ways, but nonetheless complicated by the basic human qualities that appear in people no matter what the age or time period. Definitely a good read!

[Jensine LW · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast, easy read, perfect for a lazy weekend.
I'm from the area where this novel takes place, so I really enjoyed reading this sweet little book. I liked the tone--completely appropriate with the feeling of its title.

[QNPoohBear · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fictional memoir relates the wonderful and exciting happens in the small town of Troy, Illinois as related by 11-year-old Helene Merriam Bradford. There are thrilling events like a funeral where the Bradfords meet Mr. Fenton, a Springfied lawyer who befriends the family; a chase after a couple who will be living in sin that culminates in a visit to a "hoarfrost" house; an unbirthday; a motorcar and more serious events that young Helene can't understand. This novel reads like a memoir because it tells a story in a series of incidents rather than one linear plot that has a beginning, middle and end. It is similar to Lark Rise to Candleford and Meet Me in St. Louis as all are based on the authors' childhoods but not strictly memoirs.

Young Helene is a scream! She reminds me of Anne of Green Gables in the way she speaks, spouting the poetry her mother loves and saying anything that comes into her head. Her best friend Gracie Baldwin, the preacher's daughter, is a ghoulish kid who runs wild with Helene. I felt bad for Gracie though and feel she is a more well-developed character than Helene. Helene is so precocious but also so innocent, she thoughtlessly rattles off harmful gossip or doesn't understand what's happening. Gracie is a little more worldly wise. Their adventures are a lot of fun and oh so charming!

The Bradford parents are a complicated couple and Mrs. Bradford's feelings tinge the story with darkness. Doc loves the town and all the people in it. He's wedded to his profession but tries his best to be a good husband and father. He indulges his family any way he can. Mrs. Bradford, Kate, feels like life is a lemon jelly layer cake and she's stuck in the jelly layer in Troy. Her father is wealthy and she comes from more of a city background. She loves poetry and longs for finer things. Should she be content with her lot in life or should she wish for more? I feel like she chose to marry a country doctor of her own free will so she should be content. Her daughter certainly is and I don't see Helene growing up and leaving Troy. Kate is the most elegant woman in town and she even has a woman to do her washing. This sets her apart from the other women in town but no one seems to resent her for it. Kate's relationship with Mr. Fenton makes me a little uncomfortable. Mr. Fenton is a fine man and very kind. He appreciates Kate's beauty and charm, her cooking and indulges her by being kind to her husband and child but his feelings are plainly obvious. Kate is flattered by the attention but uncomfortable with her feelings. This storyline makes the book a bit sad towards the end.

Mrs. Baldwin, the preacher's wife, also has admirers and hints of adultery crop up among the local gossips. I feel very sorry for her because she's not as clever or educated as Kate and must live her life in a fishbowl because of her position as a clergyman's wife. Unlike Kate, Mrs. Baldwin's actions are noted, commented on and gossiped about. She's said to be a terrible housekeeper and a careful reader will see Mrs. Baldwin is not a good mother either. Yet despite all this, the locals seem to be willing to forgive her because she's one of them and they are a tight community.

I love Mrs. Antha Jones and her Angel Food cake feud with Minnie Overstreet. Mrs. Antha is like a nice Mrs. Lynde who stuffs young Helene and Gracie with copious amounts of food. The quantity of things they eat is outrageous ! The characters consume multiple dishes of ice cream, several types of cake, fried doughnuts AND pancakes for breakfast, etc., etc.! No diets allowed in Troy, Illinois in 1900s. Mrs. Antha's husband, Will, is a grandfatherly figure to the girls. He spoils them rotten, teases them and they adore him. This couple is so lovely! The rivalry for gaudy gilded decorations and recipes with a neighbor is very entertaining and I find the recipe developing interesting. Who Who would have guessed how many types of pickles there are? There is one African-American character in the novel, Canary. She is well-respected because she works hard and never demands anything in return. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the villagers liked her and wanted to help her without being patronizing.

If I say too much more about this book it will spoil the enjoyment. Skip the introduction in the University of Chicago edition and just enjoy the story. I highly recommend this for readers who love
Anne of Green Gables
Meet Me in St. Louis
Lark Rise to Candleford
Thrush Green
Cranford

and highly recommended to readers of English village stories. This Midwestern Americana story isn't a whole lot different from any other village setting.

[Tamara York · Rating 4 out of 5]

I randomly found this at my used bookstore and was attracted to the folk art cover. It was written in 1952 when the author was 65. The story is set in 1900 in small down Illinois and is based on the author’s childhood. The main character is a young girl who gets into all sorts of scrapes and misunderstandings about what the adults around her are doing and saying. Reminiscent of the Betsy Tacy books but not quite as terribly wholesome. I enjoyed it and had several chuckles. It was as really interesting to be so organically set in 1900, with casual mentions of typhoid, ice from frozen ponds, no electricity, and the arrival of the first horseless carriage.

[El · Rating 3 out of 5]

Told through the eyes of Helene, an 11-year-old living in small-town Illinois in 1900, it's a story of small-town America, where neighbors know everyone's business and a lemon jelly cake is metaphoric for life in general. Helene is precocious and learns about the world around her through casual adventures with her best friend. Madeline Babcock Smith's Tory, Illinois is not an idealized generation, or a glossy look at how things probably were not, but an environment as seen by an 11-year-old. Life in Tory was not perfect, and between the lines of cakes and bead necklaces are heavy implications of extramarital affairs. And 11-year-old may not be able to describe the behaviors of others enough to directly explain the relationships of the adults around her, but adult readers are able to see the signs. The story is a reminder not that turn-of-the-century small towns were a better time and place, but that serious issues did occur beneath the icing.

I've meant for years to read this book. As I crossed from the young adult to adult books at the library a long time ago I remember seeing this cover constantly, but I never did check it out. The cover has been stuck in my brain for years, a simple Grandma Moses sort of image, long after the actual title slipped from my mind. How I came across the title or author now is beyond me, but once I did I made an effort to have it interlibrary loaned for me to read now. It's a quick read and enjoyable though not likely to make the list of my favorite coming-of-age stories. The cake metaphor, after all, was a little rich.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, light reading--old fashioned fun. Book written in 1952. I loved it!

[jimtown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little girls, eleven years old, Helene and Gracie are both only children. They both have prominent fathers and beautiful mothers. Helene and Gracie are best friends in a small town in Illinois at the turn of the century. 1900 to be exact.

This story is set in a more mellow time but still the girls learn about a serious subject. Helene, the doc's daughter and Gracie, the preacher's daughter are curious about town but they are held to higher standards due to their father's occupations.

They still catch a lot of gossip and know about most everyone in town. In the summer of 1900, the first horseless carriage comes to town, and each of the girls mothers finds they have an admirer. Each of the parents handle the situation in a different way and the little girls become a little wiser that summer.

First published in 1952, this small town charmer is one of the Prairie State books. It was a first novel written by a 65 year old grandmother and is well crafted and as sweet as the layers of a lemon jelly cake.

[Martha Tomhave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deft, affectionate but clear-eyed view of small town Illinois in 1900. Told from the perspective of Helene, a young girl who is clearly the author, Madeline Babcock Smith (born 1887). At the age of 65, Smith published this first novel in 1952, enjoyed its great success and multiple printings, but died four months later. It was reprinted in 1998, and I discovered it on our library shelves totally by accident.
The lemon jelly cake is a metaphor for life in her small town, and is only one among many foods Smith uses to represent characters and situations. Helene observes her parents, the visiting Mr. Fenton, who threatens to break up their marriage, numerous neighbors, and her best friend Gracie, the minister's daughter, whose parents model wedlock gone wrong. An absorbing, humorous (Helene confuses 'whore house' and 'hoarfrost') and marvelously good hearted depiction by a very accomplished writer.

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some people may say this was trite and too cute but I actually found it to be a pretty intelligent read with a sly sense of humor. Of course it doesn't hurt that I love this turn-of-the-century time period and little slice of Americana / midwestern life. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes armchair cozies.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was a delightful confection. As someone who grew up in Illinois and lived in Springfield almost a century after this book was set near there, it was fascinating to see how life had changed in such a relatively short amount of time. Now I just want to find a recipe for the titular cake. I would totally attempt to cook one.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

So unexpectedly delightful!

[Chris Gisler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a charming surprise! Picked it up on a whim at Goodwill. Told from the perspective of a young girl in Illinois 1900, her reflections and anecdotes had me laughing. I especially loved her unfiltered thoughts on religion as she was best friends with the legalistic preacher’s daughter. At first I would have said it was strictly a feel good read, and it generally was, but there was a sad theme throughout. Slow paced with some great characters.

[Brice Karickhoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually read fiction because I enjoy that feeling of being taken somewhere else for just a little while and sitting in on some story that has nothing to do with you. On a week of highly intense school, a little simple town in Illinois in 1900 is just the place i wanted to go.

Much like it’s setting, this book wasn’t gripping or unpredictable, but it sure was pleasant. It made me nostalgic about some place and time where I’m not, and then the one deeper message of the book (really revealed in the final pages) totally played on that nostalgia for somewhere else. Nearly shed a tear on the last 2 pages.

Didn’t blow me away like a 5 star, but a good and honest 4 star no doubt.

[Cat Pfenning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in one day. I didn't think I'd like it as much as I did. It started off a little slow but I quickly fell in love with the characters and needed to know how it ended!

[Sue D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a gentle and old-fashioned read: a look at life in a small Illinois town during the summer of 1900, narrated by 11-year-old Helene. Life was simpler then, but people still had some of the same problems as we do today, including financial difficulties, health concerns, and unhappy marriages. With the story being told though the eyes of a child, we see Helene's perspective on some of the more sordid events that go on about her that she is too young to fully understand. The book is based on the author's childhood and includes many interesting tidbits about small-town life at the turn of the century, when the Civil War was in living memory and cars were still a new invention.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book, think Meet me in St Louis, about a town and it's little dramas seen with the navie eyes of a 9 year old child. She does get a bit obnoxious, blurting out things that were unnesscary. but I smiled quite a few times too just because the the little girl, Helene, was oblivous to infedilty, poverty, and strength taking place around her. She didn't know her best friend was poor or the neighbor was stepping out because of an unhappy marriage. But as an adult I read and understood and began to wonder when I lost that perfect innocence of childhood.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This simple tale of small town American life at the turn of the century is told through the eyes of eleven year old Helene Bradford, a rather naive only child of the town's doctor. The story is in turns sweet, funny, and touching. Though the book depicts the past of over a century ago the themes of marriage and domesticity are surprisingly current.

My one reservation is that for being such a gentle book there was an uncomfortable amount of blasphemous language used. Still it was an enjoyable read and one I'd recommend with that one caveat.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book quite a bit, though certain plot points didn't seem to hold together in the end.

I loved the little girl narrator (she's about 10) and the small-town characters and details.

The book was written about 1950 and was supposed to take place around 1900; it was more sophisticated than I expected considering its vintage.

Overall, it was a light, fluffy little novel with some major plot flaws, but I enjoyed reading it enough to give it four stars.

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

Similar in some ways to O Ye Jigs and Juleps!, although with more emphasis on grown-up problems that don't always resolve easily or well. The child's voice is less believable than in Virginia Cary Hudson's book. An easy and entertaining book to read.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was exactly what a needed. A refreshing look a life in a small town told from the perspective of an innocent, and often naive, little girl. But don't worry, the reader isn't missing juicy town secrets because of its narrator. We very often get hints from adults as to what is really happening behind the scenes that they are protecting their little girl from. If you want a book that is an joy to read but also has a message behind it, read this!

[Karol · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple tale, full of sparkling gentle humor. I'm not sure the world existed just as the author depicted . . . written in the early 1950's by a 65-year-old woman about what it was like to be a child in 1900. I guess she would have known! But perhaps she idealized the earlier times of her childhood as we sometimes do. I did find the glimpses into domestic life at that time rather interesting.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old fashioned but with a sense of Eudory Welty-ish irony and undertones. I'm not sure I can explain exactly why I like it, but the comment in the introduction (which I don't recommend reading - it gives too much away) that the narrator has a Huck-Finnesque sense of self identity rings true, although the two characters couldn't be more different.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this basically in one sitting on a summer Saturday, which was probably the ideal way to read it. This is exactly the type of book I love to read: charming, funny, warmhearted, with just the barest bit of an edge. If you enjoy Alexander McCall Smith's novels, you will probably like The Lemon Jelly Cake.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helene, the small town doctor's daughter, is eleven, nosy, naive, and loving the summer of 1900. She and her friend, Gracie the preacher's daughter, tear about town getting into everyone's business yet staying completely oblivious to the adult under currents flow about the dusty streets.

A quick and relaxing read about small town life and the class system a hundred years ago.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It was written in the 50's and set in 1899/1900. It's a very easy, charming read with many sayings and colloquialisms of the past. I was also very impressed with the characters and the situations. It's a glimpse into the past, and the underlying
themes/conflicts are dealt with beautifully through the eyes of a child.

[Dawn Demulling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet semi-autobiographical book about a bygone time that explores the fragile nature of marriage.

It's not a major work of classic literature, but a work that brings a certain time period to life.

Helene is adorable and I love her take on adult events.

A book reminiscent of the Little House books but about 1900 Illinois.

Enjoyable

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just adored this sweet book. Definitely one I could read again.